The honest comparison
Salon Ads Studio vs Treatwell
Treatwell supplies bookings from its marketplace and takes 35% plus VAT of each new client's first appointment. We put you in front of people searching Google near you, at a fixed fee with no commission. Both are legitimate ways to fill a chair — here is where each one actually wins.
The real question: whose client is she?
When a client books you through Treatwell, she found Treatwell — your salon happened to be listed there, next to every competitor within a mile, sorted by rules you don't control. The review she leaves lives on their platform. The rebooking reminder comes from their app. If you ever leave, that history stays behind.
When she finds you through your own ad and your own Google listing, she found you. Your number is in her phone, your booking link is the one she taps, and she costs you nothing for the rest of her life as a client.
The maths on one colour client
Say she books a £150 full head. Through Treatwell's marketplace, the first-booking commission at 35% plus VAT is over £60 — for that one introduction. If she drifts away and comes back through them after a year, she is charged for again as new.
Through your own ads, an enquiry typically costs £10 to £15, and our fee is fixed — £29 a month covers the band most single salons sit in, however many clients the month brings. One new colour client covers everything. The second one is profit.
- You want zero involvement and accept paying heavily per introduced client
- You are starting from nothing and need any bookings at all this week
- You want clients who found you, not the marketplace — at a fixed fee, not a third of the appointment
- You want your own listing and page working for you long-term
- You never want to pay for the same client twice
Questions people ask
Can I use Salon Ads Studio and Treatwell at the same time?
Yes, and some salons sensibly do — Treatwell for marketplace bookings and its diary, us for the people searching Google near you. Over time, most owners weigh the 35% + VAT first-booking commission against a fixed monthly fee and shift their new-client budget towards the channel they own.
How much does Treatwell actually cost per new client?
Their commission is 35% + VAT of the first booking made by each new client their marketplace introduces, plus a processing fee on online prepayments and a Connect subscription. On a £150 colour appointment that is over £60 for one introduction. Repeats are free — unless she has been away 365 days, when she counts as new again.
Doesn't Treatwell guarantee bookings, though?
It supplies bookings, which is genuinely useful when your diary is empty and you need volume this week. What it cannot do is make you the salon people find when they search Google near you — and those searchers exist whether or not you advertise to them.
Do you count bookings the way Treatwell does?
No — and we say so plainly. Treatwell can count its own bookings because they happen on its platform. We count calls, enquiries and taps through to your booking link, and we never claim to know exactly which client walked in from which search, because nobody honestly can.
Fee details correct as of August 2026, from Treatwell's published partner terms and independent breakdowns. Their pricing can change — if you spot something out of date, tell us at hello@salonadsstudio.com and we'll fix it.
Find out how many are looking for you this month
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